Refrigerator door hinge



K. W. FLOCKS REFRIGERATOR DOOR HINGEJ Oct. 26, 1943.

Filed Oct. 13, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Oct. 26, 1943. K. w. FLocKs REFRIGERATOR DOOR HINGE Filed oct. 13,v 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 u. .1.........a'...n 1......

' hinge assembly taken substantially on Patented Oct. 26, 1943- REFRIGERATOR DOOR HINGE Karl W. Flocks, Washington, D. AC., assgnor to Servel, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application October 13, 1942, Serial No. 461,881

6 Claims. (Cl. 16166) This invention relates to refrigerator cabinet construction, and is particularly concerned with an improved hinge mounting for refrigerator cabinet doors.

The improved hinge mounting or assembly is of that type primarily adapted for streamline cabinets wherein the opposite side edges and top of the cabinet door lie flush with the \outer sides and top of the cabinet when the door is closed. In such types of cabinet, it is desirable that the hinges for the door be constructed in a manner such as to cause the door tomove outwardly during the initial opening movement to permit the hinge side or edge of the door with its accompanying gasket to clear the adjacent wall surface of the cabinet as the door is swung to open position, and hinges have been devised with this object in view. Such hinges however have been open to a number of objections among which may be mentioned unduly complicated parts, failure to operate smoothly and effectively throughout the life of the cabinet, and diiiicult installation; and the present invention has in view the provision of a hinge which will overcome the foregoing objectionable factors.

Another object is to provide a hinge mounting or assembly for cabinets of the type specified which when the door is initially opened will permit the gasket usually installed between the door and cabinet to clear the contiguous cabinet wall l without appreciably wiping the surface of said wall and which wiping action results in unnecessary deformation and wear of' the gasket with consequent ineffective sealing after the cabinet has been in service during a relatively short span of its life.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages will become apparent in view of the following description taken in conjunction with'the drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a View in front elevation of a refrigerator cabinet in accordance with the invention, showing the door in closed position;

Fig. 2, a view similar to Fig. 1 but showing the door open;

Fig. 3, an enlarged fragmentary View in front elevation of the upper hinge corner of the cabinet;

Fig. 4, a horizontal sectional plan View of the the line 4 4, Fig. 3;

Fig. 5, a view similar to Fig. '4, but showing the position of the parts during the initial opening movement of the door;

Fig. 6, a geometric diagram illustrating the theory of operation of the improved hinge assembly.

Referring to the drawings in detail, a refrigerator cabinet is generally indicated at I0 and is provided with a food compartment Il and a door I2. Below the food compartment is a machinery compartment adapted to house suitable refrigeration machinery, not shown. The inner and outer walls of the cabinet may be made of sheet metal or analogous material, only the outer wall, indicated at I3, being visible in Figs. 4 and 5, suitable insulation I4 being disposed between said walls. In the form here shown, the door consists of aninner wall or door pan I5 and an outer wall or shell IB with insulation material I1 interposed therebetween. The inner and outer walls of the door are supported by suitable framework I8, I8 formed with an opening or space I9 to receive the hinge members or elements, to be described. A suitable gasket 20 is secured to the inner wall of the door and is adapted to effect a seal between the door and cabinet when the door is closed.

The hinge assembly in its preferred form comprises upper and lower supporting plates 2l, 2l which may be secured to the adjacent walls of the cabinet as by welding or anchored to the frame of the cabinet in any suitable manner. A hinge member or leaf 22 is provided and at its inner end is connected tota hinge pin or pintle 23 which is mounted in a pair of vertically aligned llots 24 formed in the upper and lower plates A coacting hinge leaf or member 25 has its inner end secured to a pin or pintle which in y turn is anchored to the plates 2l, 2l and at its opposite end is pivotally connected to the hinge member or' leaf 22. A retracting spring 28 connects the hinge pins or pintles 23 and 26 and normally urges the slidable pin 23 inwardly in the slots 24.

A latch member 29 is provided and has an arm' 29' pivotally anchored at 3U to the plates 2l, 2i At its outer end the latch member 29 is formed with an abutment 29a adapted to be contacted by the door-When the latter is closed, thereby forcing the inner end of the said latch member against the pin or pintle 23 and holdin-g the'latter in extended position, note Fig. 4.

The extension 22a of the leaf or hinge member 22 projects through -slots 3| and 32 formed re spectively in the outer wall I3 0f the cabinet and the inner-wall i5 of the door, the outer end of the extension being connected to a pin or pintle anchored to upper and lower angle brackets 3d.

' pended claims. A

notedrthat the hinge leaves 22 and 25 together with slot 24 (assuming the latter to be extended to the pin 26) define an isoceles trianglel in which the angles opposite the equal sides are ed'ual. Therefore, the movement of the hinge leaves will follow the geometric theorem illustrated in Fig. 6, the hinge point or pin 33 moving outwardly in a straight line when the door 4 is opened. As long as the door remains .closed the parts occupy the position shown in Fig. 4, the

latchv en-gaging the hingepin 23 and holding thelatter in extended position in the slot 24. When the door is opened,the sp1-ing pulls the hinge pin 23 inwardly in the slots 24, and straight-line motion is transmitted to the hinge pin 33 so that the door in turn moves outwardly iii ya straightline during its inltialopening movement. Once the gasket and adjacent edge of the door has cleared the adjacent wallof the cabinet, thedoor may be opened vor turned through `the remainder of a 90 angle, whereupon the pin 23 reaches the limit of its travel and the door is substantially aligned with the adjacent side wall of the cabinet. Thus, the hinge has in eiect a compound hinge action in that the door is pivoted .or turned about therhiznge pin 33 while being simultaneously moved away or toward, the cabinet. f,

2. In a refrigerator cabinet having a food compartment and a. door -permitting access to said compartment, hinge means 4connecting the door to the cabinet, said hinge' means comprising a p'air of hinge leaves pivotally connected to one another at one end and their opposite ends respectively provided with a fixed pivotal mounting and a slidable pivotal mounting, meansfunctioning to guide the slidable pivot in a path toward and from the xed pivot, means normally urging the slidable pivot toward the xed pivot,

means for moving the slidable pivot away from' the xed pivot, the leaf having the slidable pivot being extended., beyond its point of connection to the coacting leaf and being pivotally connected or hinged to the door, said last mentioned means being controlled byI opening and closing movements of the' door for effecting travel of the slidable pivot to move toward and from the When the door is closed, it i's ilrst turned about I the hinge pin 33, at which time what is herein termed simple hinge action takes place, but when the door contacts the abutment 29a and throws the latch 29 in engagement with the'hingc pin 23, compoundhinge action again takes place and the doorreturns ina straight line to closed position while it is being turned about its hinges.

Thus, the lgasket 20 always moves in a straight line as long as it is in contact Iwith the adjacent wall of the cabinet and never has a'wiping action with respect to said wall. This insures minimum Wearon the gasket and a proper compressing action ofthe gasket when the door is closeda` The hinge parts are of simple construction and may bel made strong and rugged. Since the spring leaves describe a toggle action which is simple and not complicated, the hinge assembllwill last throughout the life of the cabinet.

' Itwill be understood that certain variations in construction and arrangement of. the parts of the hinge assembly may be made to obtain the desirable straight-line motion of the door during.

opening andclosing of the latter, and that other changes in construction vand design may be adopted without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention a-s defined by the ap- I claim: 1. In arefrigerator cabinet, a door and hinge means connecting the door tothe cabinet, said hinge means comprising a pair of hinge elements arranged in angular relation with their ends pivotally connected -to one another at one end and their opposite ends respectively having a fixed pivotal mounting and a slidable pivotal mounting, means normally urging the slidable pivot towards the iixed pivot, one of said hinge elements being extended and pivotally connected orV hinged tothe door, and-latch means engagving, the door and said slidable pivot` and normally s holding the latter in extended pfosition when the door is closed, opening movement of the door releasing the latch and permitting the slidable pivot to move towards the fixed pivot and thereby effect a substantially straight-line movement of the door away from the-cabinet during initial openingl movement of the door.

,isosceles triangle, the hinge element having the movable pivot being extended beyond its connection with its coacting hingeelement and piv- `otally connected or hinged to the door, and a latch member normallyvengaging theqmovable pivot and holding the latter in extended position, said latch member being released when the door is opened and 'permitting-the movable pivot to move towards' the xed pivot and cause the door to move outwardly in a substantially straight line from the cabinet during initial opening movement of the doorv and to engage the said movable pivot when the door is closed and return it to` extended position, reversing the straight-line movement of vthe door when the latter approaches its fully closed position.\v

Y 4. In a refrigerator' cabinet Ahaving a foodV compartment and a door permitting access to -said compartment, hinge means connecting the door to the cabinet, said hinge means including a support anchored to the cabinet and formed with an elongated slot, a pair of hinge; elements of substantially equal length pivotally connected4 at one end to one another, one of said hinge elements having its opposite end mounted on a pivot movable-in said vslot and the other of said hinge elements having .its opposite end pivotally xedto said support, said hinge elements together with said slot deiining isosoeles triangle wherein the hinge elements denne the opposite equal sides ofthe triaii'gle''means' normally urging the movable pivot towards the fixedpivot, the hinge element having the movable pivot being extended beyond the leak of the triangle and pivotally connected 'or hinged to the door, and latch means controlled by the door and operating to release the movable pivot when' the doof is opened andcause the door ove outwardly in a substantially straightlin from the cabinet yand to engage they movable pivot when the door is closed andgretur'niit to its extended position and reverse such straight-line movement asthe door approaches fully closed position.

5. In a refrigerator cabinet having a food compartment and a door permitting access to said compartment, a hinge assembly connecting the door to the cabinet, said hinge assembly including a support anchored to the cabinet and formed with an elongated slot substantially paralleling the front face of the cabinet, a pair of hinge leaves having their outer en ds pivotally connected to one Aanother and extending inwardly in divergent angular relation, one of said hinge leaves having its inner end pivotally and movably mounted in said slot and the other of said hinge leaves having its inner end pivotally fixed to said support, means normally having their outer ends pivotally connected to one another and extending in divergent angular relation and having theirl inner ends respective- 6.A In a refrigerator cabinet having a food com- J.

partment and a door permitting access to said compartment, a hinge assembly connecting the door tothe cabinet, said Vhinge assembly including a support anchored to the cabinet and formed with an enlongated slot substantially parallelng the face of the cabinet, a pair of hinge leaves ly pivotally mounted on a pivot movable in said slot and on a pivot fixed to said support, a spring connected between said pivots normally urging the movable pivot toward the fixed pivot, the leaf having the movable pivot being extended beyond its point/of connection with its coacting leaf and terminating in a curved portion which is pivotally connected or hinged to the door, the outer wall of the cabinet and the inner wall of the door being formed with clearance slots for the extended portion of said leaf, anda latch member pivotally connected to said support and having its inner end adapted. to engage said movably mounted pivot and its outer end adapted to abut the door when the latter is closed, initial opening movement of the door releasing said latch which in turn releases said movable pivot and permits the latter to slide towards the fixed pivot whereupon the door moves outwardly from the cabinet in a substantially straight line while being rotated about its hinged connection, and when the door is closed, it nrst rotates about its hinge connection and then causes the latch member to engage the movable pivot and retl'rn it to its extended position so that the door moves inwardly in a straight line as it approaches its fully closed position,

KARL w. FLocKsL 

